Non-profit organisations to be more accountable
Friday February 18 2011 | 06:19 AM

Barbados is moving to ensure that non-profit organisations cannot be used as conduits for terrorist financing and activities.

This was the information delivered by Attorney General and MP for St. Philip South Adriel Brathwaite, while debating the Companies Amendment Bill, 2011, during the post lunch session of Parliament on Tuesday. He suggested that the whole issue of non-profit or charitable organisations being used in such activities, has come to the fore since the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States and Barbados and by extension the Caribbean, must become more vigilant in this area.

“The reality is, that even if there are no terrorist activities per se taking place in the Caribbean, and even if we don’t see ourselves as a conduit for terrorist financing, from an international perspective, if in fact that we were to be used as a conduit for (such activities) . . . then in fact, the potential fall out could be great to our economy, not only from a Barbadian perspective, but from a Caribbean perspective,” Brathwaite stated.

“What this Bill then seeks to do, is to address certain loop holes identified in our legislation and in particular, the whole issue of charities and non profit organisations being used as conduits for terrorist financing. Again, the experience out of 9/11 shows that lots of terrorist financing activities were being conducted through non-profit organisations or through so called charitable organisations and therefore, world attention was brought to bear on such organisations, to ensure there is accountability and that is exactly what the Companies Amendment Bill is doing here,” the AG added.

The Bill he added, will ensure that there is always someone accountable for the activities of these companies and will require directors to have available a certain level of information and to inform the Registrar or Companies of any changes to management.

“What we are trying to do is ensure that at all times, we can point to someone who is accountable for the activities of non-profit companies and what the Bill also sets out, is to ensure that the Attorney General can enquire and demand to see and examine the records of any non-profit company, if there is cause for us to have enquiry” he also explained.